


Ku'u Ipo Huna... (My Secret Love...)

by Benjimin



Category: Original Work
Genre: Hawaii, M/M, Mermaids, Mermen, Multi, OC, Original Character - Freeform, Original Story - Freeform, merfolk, mermaid - Freeform, merman
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-28
Updated: 2013-12-22
Packaged: 2018-01-02 20:56:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1061541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Benjimin/pseuds/Benjimin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>+++This is the story of my OC, and a friend that he meets. I decided to write from Noe's ("No-eh") perspective, because the merman cannot talk. The merman is my OC, although i don't know his name yet. He hasn't told me. Maybe because he cannot speak all too well...</p><p>\</p><p>Growing up, Noe was a big fan of the ocean. He loved Merfolk as a child, and grew up with extensive knowledge of the fantasy creatures. He never thought he would have one as a friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mist of the Heavens

**Chapter 1: Mist of the Heavens**  
  
  Noe had been living on the island all his life. In his childhood, he heard many stories from his father and his father's father of creatures from the deep. Things no one could bear to believe, things that you might only know from fairytales. These monsters were either dangerous and created havoc, or mystical friendly creatures, according to all the stories he's read. As an adult he still has a fondness for the sea dwellers, although he  grew out of those silly childish tales. By the time he was 10, he knew that Merfolk and Sirens weren't real. But by 19 years of age he proved his childish self very, very wrong.  
  A man with tanned skin and dark, tied-back, shoulder-length hair walks along a deserted beach in Kaua'i, one of Hawaii's main islands. Noe has found many uninhabited beaches near his town that he likes to go to when he is stressed. He thinks of how he can possibly get away, escape from his life off of this island. There's nothing but ocean.  
  He had been talking to his mother recently about his 'lack of a real career' as a cook in a cheap, tourist-attracting restaurant, owned by a family friend. It's been more than a year since he entered adulthood, and all he's done is slack off on preparing for life. He hasn't filled out any college applications, he hasn't gotten a well-paying job; he hasn't even made any new friends after high school. Marcus, his best friend from school, just went off to college last month, so Noe is left by himself, stuck with the family that he is beginning to hate more and more as the days go on.  
  Noe walks along the beach, contemplating on where to settle down. He finds a dock and walks to the end of it, setting down his orange floral towel and a bag filled with leftovers from lunch. Laying on his stomach, he gazes over the dark blue waters, watching as the high noon sun glistens off of the surface. The waves roll in, crashing against the shoreline, and Noe wonders if he should run back to the house and grab his board, or at least his swim trunks for a quick dip in the water. It's only a ten minute walk, after all.  
  He hasn't even touched the ocean since he finished school. After graduation, Marcus and Noe and a few other of their friends all went down to the beach with their surf boards and stayed in the water until the tide began to rise. He doesn't have time for that kind of fun nowadays. He works full time at the restaurant and takes care of his retired parents. Noe begins to wonder how long it will take to move out and start his life. _Too long_ , he thinks. _I'm still just a dumb kid_.  
  The dock Noe was laying on was only a few inches above the water's surface, so he lazily sticks his arm over the edge of the dock and dips his hand in. It must be covered by water at night and dries out during the day, the random thought popped into his head. A new, neat little retreat for him. It's fun to find new hiding spots. Noe was already sitting at a café for a while before coming to the beach and he knows he'll be scolded later by his boss for staying out too long during lunch break. He does it almost every day, but it's worth it for these quiet, peaceful minutes.  
  Noe's fingers tap and flicker in the water to the beat of a song he once loved. He puts his head down, his forehead resting against the towel, humming along. He hears a small, ominous, off-beat splash.  
  Noe quickly raises his head and takes his hand out of the water. _Shark_ , he thought with a terrified, yet curious expression. Getting onto his knees, his eyes zip across the surrounding water. _Or dolphins_ , he remembers after a moment. Dolphins aren't that uncommon around the island, especially in the calm bays lacking tourists and young, wild kids. He was expecting to see an animal. Instead, he looks into the deep water in front of him and sees someone staring back.


	2. From The Deep

Bright turquoise eyes shone brightly under the ocean as Noe jumped onto his feet, backing away from the edge.  
  "HOLYSHITWHATTHEFUCK," he exclaimed.  
  The man under the water's eyes shot wide and he sunk deeper until Noe could no longer see him. He scuffled towards the water once again, anxiously peeking over the dock. His breath was rapid and quick, palms sweating from the scare. _Who was that..?_ Noe wonders. _Not anyone_ I _know_.  
  Noe slowly drops to his knees and peers over the water, he can see shadows similar to hair and limbs under the ocean. The strange man in the water cautiously glances up, and slowly rises to the surface. Noe can see now that he's not from around here. A foreigner, maybe, he wonders. What are they doing out here alone..?  
  Wavy, shoulder-length, black hair sticks to the soft features of this mysterious man's face, and his eyes shined bright like polished stones. He had a worried look on his face.  
  "It's okay, you just freaked me out a little," Noe chuckles, "Are you from around here?" The man opens his mouth with a puzzled look on his face, but does not respond.  
  "Are you visiting Kaua'i?" he tries again. "…Hello? Do you not understand English?" The man in the water slowly nods his head.  
  "Oh, so you do know English. What's your name?" The man pauses for a few moments and lets out a small, odd sounding gurgle-squeak.  
  Noe looks wide-eyed at the man. He doesn't entirely know how he's supposed to respond to such a strange noise from a strange man. Is that supposed to be his name? How does he understand English but doesn't know how to speak it?  
  The man begins to look embarrassed, a lavender hue spreading across his cheeks-- _Wait, purple? Why is his face turning purple if he's embarrassed..? Is he losing oxygen or something maybe he needs help_ \--  
  Before Noe could think of anything to do or say, the man covers his face with an awkward smile and sinks back into the water, letting out a small skree. Noe holds onto the edge of the dock and peeks into the water again, searching for whoever disappeared into it. Before long, he notices the familiar blue eyes looking back up at him. _How long can this guy hold his damn breath?_  
  "I'm not gonna hurt you, man," Noe says in a soft, friendly tone, coaxing the man to the surface. He rises from the water and Noe sits back on his feet. "Where are you from?" he asks. The man turns around swiftly and points to a direction far away on the stretch of water. _There aren't any islands where he's pointing. Maybe he means the island of Ni'lhau?_ "Oh, okay," Noe replies with a small smile, and the man turns back, grinning from ear to ear with his lips tightly closed.  
  "Well, I'm Noelani, but call me Noe because Noelani is a girl's name." The man smiles understandingly and holds onto a pole under the corner of the dock, slightly lifting his torso above the water. That's when Noe sees it.  
  A shimmer of blue-green underneath the man's hips sparkles in the sun, and Noe is blinded by it for a mere second. _Those aren't swim trunks_ , he thinks, _it looks like a fish's scales_. The man in the ocean notices Noe looking at his body, and sinks into the water once again, leaving only his shoulders and head out of the water. He looks frightened, worried, Noe thinks. "Dude, I already told you I'm not gonna hurt you." He reaches a hand towards the man, showing him that Noe is friendly. The man reaches out and awkwardly taps Noe's hand, and puts his own hand back down as quickly as he can. _His hands are strange_ , Noe notices, _this man is strange_.  
  "So, you can't talk, can you?" The man looks down sadly and shakes his head. "But you know what I'm saying." He looks at Noe. _What's with this kid..?_  
  "Uhm… This might sound weird, but can I see..? What you were hiding from me?" Noe motions toward the water, hinting to the man to show the lower part of his body. The man seems very wary at first and slowly leans to the side. Noe is confused until he sees flashes of green and blue scales next to the man in the water.  
  He freezes. Noe has no idea what to think. _Fish? No, that's him. He'd probably be freaked out if a huge fish was right next to him. He's one of them. He has to be. Holy shit. Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit_. "What are you?"  
  The man looked confused and somewhat embarrassed. He shows the tail again, it's bright green body shines with an almost blue hue, with blue fins that look like silk rippling in the water. Noe notices that his jaw is slack in astonishment and closes his mouth, looking finally at the man's face. "Are you… A Mermaid?"  
  The tailed man furrowed his brow and tilted his head slightly. "I mean, a Merman?" The man still looked confused.  
  "Do you not know those words? Are they too complicated for you? Okay, I mean… Alright okay I guess we're in a Disney movie, alright, alright, okay, so you're a 'Merman'. You probably don't call yourself that but that's what we call you. Humans. That's what human's like me call you." Noe kept rambling on and on, not knowing how to react or what to do. He's almost in a state of shock. He had heard of Merfolk all of his life, living on the island. When pirates and fishermen would be lured to the beautiful women upon the shores and then once in their clutches, they would soon be dragged into the deep to be killed and eaten. He hadn't only seen the Disney movie, he's read up on them, too. It became a major fascination in his life. Some little boys have robots and dinosaurs, Noe had Merfolk. He had read so many books on the creatures themselves, and the tales that follow. Noe remembers the first time he learned that Merfolk were once called Sirens, these frightening creatures that could change form in the eyes of the beholder, in order to kill and eat them.  
  He looks nervously at the innocent-looking man in the water, swimming around now, showing his tail, flicking water into the air and then coming back up to the dock's edge. _He couldn't be one of those, could he?_ Noe shakes, whether from fear or excitement, he doesn't know.


	3. Touch

**Chapter 3: Touch**  
  
  "Are you gonna eat me?" It's blunt, but Noe needs to know right now before he runs right back to the safety of land. The man looks confused at first, and then somewhat hurt. His eyebrows arch upwardly and his shoulders slump, as he begins to sink into the water. "No, no, no, I didn't mean that," Noe forces a nervous smile, "I've just heard some weird things about Merfolk in stories." The man looks at him curiously. "Like, how you guys would lure men into the water with your dashing good looks and then EAT THEM but you know, just weird stuff like that." Noe didn't mean to say that in such a condescending way, but then again, he was still very freaked out at what he's learned that day. Mermaids are real. Well, Mermen are real, from what Noe's seen. He's still finding all of this hard to believe. The Merman floated still in the water, looking at Noe with a nervous expression. Noe's mouth was pressed closed in a tight line, brows furrowed, thinking of what to say next. If this man is really what he thinks he is, Noe most definitely does not want him to turn violent.  
  The man pulls his hand out of the water, and slowly, cautiously places his hand palm up towards Noe. Looking more closely now, Noe can see the webbed pieces of skin stretched between the man's fingers. Other than that, he notices no claws or spines on his hands and arms that could potentially be dangerous. Noe squats down on the wooden dock's edge and reaches out his own hand, touching the man's open palm softly. He looks into the man's eyes to make sure this is okay, and the man gives a small squeak and smiles. Noe moves his finger's towards the webbed pieces and lightly brushes against them, glancing at the man every second, hoping there's no negative reaction. Thankfully, there isn't, and Noe determines that it's safe to touch him. He kneels down on the dock and, using both hands, touches the man's own hand with interest. Noe stares at the pieces of skin connecting the fingers, and the stretchy consistency of them. The merman moves his hand back, and at first, Noe thinks he was done with letting him look at it, flinching in response. The man simply shows Noe his hand, opening and closing his fingers, showing how the skin folds and expands for use. He puts his hand in the ocean and pushes water around him, displaying how they work.  
  The man then reaches his hand for Noe's. He sits cross-legged on the edge of the dock now, setting his hand out in front of him, the man gently sets his own hand atop of Noe's. Noe watches as the man crinkles his eyebrows and takes his hand with two hands, spreading Noe's fingers apart and pressing them back together. The man begins picking at Noe's fingernails, squeezing the tips of his fingers and trying to move the nail gently. _What is he trying to do..?_ Noe wonders.  
  The Merman lets go of Noe's hand and puts his own hand up again, and slowly, slightly bends his fingers. Nail-like claws recede from underneath the human-looking nails already on his fingers. The man is careful not to frighten Noe as his claws extend an inch longer than his fingers. The man looks at his hand, and then back at Noe with his head slightly tilted, eyebrows angled upwards.  
  "No, I don't have those. Mine are just normal nails. Those are freaky," Noe tries to tell the man. The man looks at Noe strangely as his claws retract under his nails.  
  "Sorry, I mean, I just don't have them. You do, but I don't. We're different," Noe tries to explain, "Just like how I have legs, and you don't," Noe wiggles his toes at the man.  
  Noe allows the man to reach out and hold his foot, carefully squeezing his toes and touching his ankle and calf. Noe smiles, thinking of how different of an experience this is. He's looking at and touching a Merman. Both he, and the Merman are learning things they'd never known about today. He wonders what the man's home is like, and where it is. Perhaps he has friends and family that live down there, too. Noe wonders if their civilization is a hierarchy, or more like a tribe. In the middle of his thoughts, there's a quick sharp pain in his foot.  
  "OW, what the hell?!" Noe, no longer spacing out, glares at the man in the water as his mouth quickly lets go of Noe's foot. Although Noe is angry, the Merman begins to smile, squeaking and gurgling without opening his mouth. "Are you… Laughing..?" Noe says in disbelief. The man nods his head and begins slapping the water with his hand, making the strangest happy noises while he does so. _Did he infect me with something? Is that why he's laughing?_ Noe begins to worry, becoming paranoid that this man is all he originally thought out to be. He looks at the side of his foot that was bitten, and there is no blood; barely even a mark. Just a few dots imprinting a mouth around his toes. "Yeah, very funny, I get it..," Noe watches the man thrash about in the water. He's alright, just goofing around, Noe thinks, smirking. He looks about my age, too. "How old are you?"  
  The man stops laughing but Noe could tell he was forcing back a smile. The Merman puts up his fingers, all ten of them, and opens and closes his fingers twice. "So you're twenty?" The man gives Noe a confused look. "Twenty?" Noe says in a louder voice, in the case the man didn't hear him properly. The man in the water continues to look at Noe like he doesn't understand.  
  "You don't know numbers, okay," he wonders if the man really is twenty years old, though. He could be wrong, or interpreting what the man showed him incorrectly, although he does look pretty young. Noe doesn't know what age is to them, be it months or hundreds of years. The man could be saying he's twenty decades old, but Noe doubts that that's what the man intended. _What English does he understand? I suppose I'd have to think about where he learned it_. Noe wonders about it for a moment. _Sailors and fishermen, probably. He only knows what he's heard them talk about_.  
  "Hey, do you know English from the people you've heard? Or does someone teach it to you?" Noe asks. The man points to his ear. _So he learns it himself_. "That's pretty neat," Noe says to the man with an approving smile. The man returns with a big toothy grin back. _Whoa, his teeth_. The man closes his lips tightly again with a guilty smile, as if he's done something wrong.  
  "No, let me see, it's okay. I just want to see them, I won't be scared." The man stares up at Noe and apprehensively parts his lips, showing the pearly white teeth he's hidden behind his closed mouth this entire time. They're sharp and pointed, not unlike a sharks'. The man tilts his head up, opening his mouth for Noe. His dark blue tongue rests against the bottom of his mouth. Noe notices the abnormality of his black gums, and he can see light shining through the sides of his throat from the almost invisible gills on his neck. He's tempted to touch the inside of his mouth, but Noe resists the urge.  
  Noe lies onto his stomach, almost eye level to the Merman and opens his mouth for him to see. Noe's pink gums and square teeth seem so different to the man. He peers up into Noe's mouth and before Noe could react, the mans fingers are in his mouth, feeling his way around. He's surprised, but decides to stay calm. After all, the man is just experimenting, and learning about humans just as Noe is learning about Mermen. Noe watches as the man's finger's feel around his molars, his eyes wide in curiosity, jaw lazily hanging open.  
  After a few minutes, the man presses and squeezes Noe's tongue and then takes his fingers out, smiling at Noe in thanks.  
  "No problem," he says, chuckling. Noe rests his chin on his arms and watches the man watching him. _He's kind of cute..._  
  "I have to go," Noe begins to say, while standing up, "I could come back tomorrow though, same time?" he smiles to the man still floating at the dock's edge. The man smiles and nods. As Noe walks away, he can hear the squeaking and clicking of the man, and he imagines the goodbyes he might be saying.

 

 

====

 

**_vvv touch~_ **

**_http://www.furaffinity.net/view/12313051/_ **

**Author's Note:**

> I'll hopefully be posting one chapter a week.  
> Sorry my writing is terrible, I used to write very often, although now I'm a bit rusty after not writing for years. ALSO, i have no idea how this site works please send help


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